Five face Special Criminal Court trial in connection with State's biggest drugs seizure

The Book of Evidence contained some 13,000 pages

The five men face charges in relation to the seizure of more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine that was discovered aboard the MV Matthew off the Cork coast in September 2023. Picture Dan Linehan

Five men charged in connection with the biggest cocaine seizure in the history of the State have been sent forward for trial at the Special Criminal Court.

Saeid Hassani, aged 37, Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 32, Vitaliy Vlasoi, aged 32, Cumali Ozgen, aged 48, and Harold Estoesta, aged 31, were brought to Mallow District Court under a heavy Garda presence and the Garda Armed Support Unit on Tuesday morning.